Giving a hoot about Canadian music

Premiere: Communism – “Get Down Get Together”

Three longtime Toronto musicians are joining forces. The result? Rock and roll communicating simple ideas simply. Rock can sometimes be subject to bloat and unnecessary complexity, but Communism sticks to the basics, and that works well on Get Down Get Together, out on Zunior and Outside Music on September 16.

Communism, by the way, is the prolific Don Kerr, alongside Paul Linklater (the Pinecones, Colleen and Paul) and Kevin Lacroix (Ron Sexmith, Bidiniband). Their new album starts from the basic guitar/bass/drums/vocals setup, and plays with many different styles. There’s the 50s-y doo-wop of “One of Everyone,” the almost dance-punk frenzy of “Bye Bye Bees” and an easygoing 60s feel to “Forgiveness.” The latter pitches a simple idea: why hold a grudge when forgiveness makes everything better? Similarly, “Crapitalism” doesn’t waste words in saying that yeah, people don’t have it so great out there. The band really starts to play with structure in the fast-paced “Look Out,” that seems to throw out a new idea every few seconds.

Every song does something a little different, and you can now hear Get Down Get Together in its entirety below before it comes out this Friday.